Rancho Gordo Chocolate Chip Cookies

I grew up in lovely Sausalito, California, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. There weren’t a lot of kids in town (except on the weekends when the divorced fathers had visits from their kids), but there was a solid core and I’m still friends with many of them.

Fort Baker was an army base just down the road and it was forbidden to visit unless you had official business or knew someone stationed there. Now it’s a park and within the park is an amazing restaurant called Murray Circle. The pastry chef, Ethan Howard, makes his magic there and this recipe was his reaction to our piloncillo and chocolate.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and coriander and stir together lightly. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and piloncillo and mix on low speeduntil smooth and creamy. With the mixer still on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.

On low speed, add the flour mixture in three equal batches, mixing well after each addition and stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Finally, on low speed, add the Mexican chocolate and the bittersweet and milk chocolate chips and mix just until evenly distributed.

Bake for 7 minutes, then rotate the baking sheets back to front and continue baking until the cookies are golden brown, about 8 minutes longer. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely.

The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.